{"id":3140,"date":"2014-10-24T07:19:46","date_gmt":"2014-10-24T11:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=3140"},"modified":"2014-12-13T07:45:20","modified_gmt":"2014-12-13T12:45:20","slug":"10-24-14-still-life-with-bread-crumbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=3140","title":{"rendered":"10-24-14 ***Still Life with Bread Crumbs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Anna<\/a>By Anna Quindlen<\/strong> (2014). Unanimity in my first book club meeting about this book\u2014thin, unrevealing, wish fulfillment for 60-year-olds. This was my first Quindlen, so I was glad to hear from others who\u2019ve read many more of her books that this one is an aberration. It\u2019s the story of a dyed-in-the-wool Manhattan photographer, age 60, who moves to an upstate New York cabin to save money while she sublets her apartment.<\/p>\n

The man who comes to evict the raccoons in her attic happens to be very handy around the house, in more ways than one, and her biggest quandary is whether to succumb to someone 15 years her junior. There are a few more plot elements, most of which lack believability, as does the portrayal of small-town life. But it\u2019s well-written and an easy read for a day when you\u2019re not up to much of a challenge.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t scoff at reading for entertainment, but the \u201ceverything tied up neatly at the end with a bow on it\u201d resolution strained my patience. The book group debated whether this was pure chick lit\u2014I say \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mysteriously, it was well reviewed. NPR said Quindlen \u201cstill has her finger firmly planted on the pulse of her generation.\u201d Not so the 20 members of her generation in my book club. They were particularly riled by Joanna Rakoff\u2019s New York Times review<\/a><\/em>, which called the book \u201ca feminist novel for a post-feminist age.\u201d What could that possibly mean? Especially applied to a character notable for not taking charge of her life in any plausible way.<\/p>\n

This is a book you can skim. It\u2019s kind of like eating a Dunkin Donuts cruller. You know there\u2019s no sustenance there, but if you\u2019re in the right mood, it might taste pretty good.
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